A Scenic Caribbean Hideaway: St. Kitts & Nevis

Group Travel Advice by Mike Farmer

The Caribbean, a beautiful archipelago, is one of the great destinations I’ve had the pleasure of visiting and designing group rewards in. Each island brings its distinct charm and allure coated with sun, sand, and the sea.

Among these tiny islands, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Barts stand out, offering unique experiences.

St. Kitts – a Caribbean Paradise

St. Kitts is the perfect getaway for groups that have already visited the Bahamas or Aruba or are thinking about going there. Not only is it more budget-friendly than places like Bermuda and St. Maarten, but it also offers unique beach experiences, thanks to its verdant landscapes and a prominent volcano in the backdrop.

The most popular and suitable hotel for group travel would be the St. Kitts Marriott Resort. It has an eccentric range of amenities, including restaurants, a full-service spa, multiple pool areas, a private beach, and an adjacent golf club. If you’re an outdoorsy person, you can go for a variety of watersports, along with Jeep tours, horseback adventures, and guided hiking trails.

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Nevis – the Emerald Isle

For groups with bigger budgets and a more exclusive experience in mind, the island of Nevis, especially the luxurious Four Seasons Resort, would be much more enticing.

The excitement starts with a 45-minute boat ride from St. Kitts right to the hotel’s pier. Deboard the boat with a welcome party waiting with champagne flutes. They’ll escort you and your group to their beachfront cabanas, setting the tone for an exceptional stay. And, of course, you get all the sought-after amenities you’d expect from a luxury. A full-service spa, great restaurants, and, naturally, a picturesque golf course.

What Nevis may lack in terms of size (it’s only 36 miles in circumference), it more than makes up for with its charming, rich history and panoramic beauty. You can take an Austin Mini Moke (it’s like a dune buggy) and explore the local shops and museums in the port town of Charleston. After that, you have the opportunity to wind up the twisty roads around the Nevis Peak (an active volcano).

And let me warn you, your arm will be sore from endlessly waving back to the friendly locals. But who doesn’t want that problem?

Activities on this island depend on what you like. You can just sit back and relax in the natural hot spring spas, snorkel or scuba dive with the sea turtles, or go for sport fishing. Or if you’d like to stay away from the water (which would be hard on an island), you have the option to meet the Vervet monkeys or maybe even hike up to 3,200 ft. Nevis Peak.

You can conduct the special group dinners with a party on the scenic Pinney’s Beach or a dine-around at one of the island’s many historic sugar mill plantations-turned restaurants. Or, for cooking lovers, you can get a private class with the Four Seasons executive chef.

So you can see Nevis is outstanding for a company group outing. There’s something for everyone.

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My favorite memory…

I had a group “flyaway” day planned for a client to go to the nearby St. Barts. Although more of a landing strip with a small house, Nevis does have its own “airport”, only a few minutes away from the Four Seasons.

In the morning, we chartered ten private aircrafts take the group on a short trip from Nevis to St. Barts. The plan was to shop in the trendy stores and an amazing, fresh seafood buffet at the unbelievably scenic Hôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf. And then some beach time before the flight back to Nevis.

Let me share a few highlights from this flyaway event.

To start with, St. Bart has one of the most terrifying, yet thrilling, landings on the planet. The plane approaches around the mountain and then lands down a surprisingly short runway, on the edge of a beach. (You can check it out on YouTube)

Right after landing and deboarding, almost everyone went straight to filming the next plane landing on the airstrip. Another funny memory was when the participants from my group felt like they met the owner of Air St. Kitts. But as it turns out, the captain is kind of a celebrity. Upon further investigation, I found out he was the iconic cowboy from the “The Marlboro Man” ads on the TV and billboards across the country. This childhood memory won’t ever fade…

In my humble opinion…

St. Kitts and Nevis can be challenging for larger groups in terms of air travel and logistics, especially for those from the West. However, you can mitigate these issues by planning a casual leisure night or hosting the welcome reception on Day Two.

Both St. Kitts and Nevis are more low-key and peaceful compared to the more popular Mexico and the Dominican Republic. But the latter do tend to have more energy, particularly at night.

I recommend you consider the island twins for more well-traveled groups who just want something new and relatively less explored. But if your group is looking for a more sophisticated experience, St. Bart would be a better alternative. Your guests can get the Mediterranean experience without the long and tedious flights.

But all three would be absolutely perfect for group travel; plenty of opportunities for creating wonderful memories.

 

–  Mike Farmer, Head of Group Travel Services

 

Want to learn more about the potential with these or other destinations? Or how the experience can be tailored to your budget and requirements. Then, reach out to our incentive group travel experts for a no-further-obligations chat. We’re always interested in sharing the insights from Mike’s travel diaries. Plus, we don’t want to miss out on amazing adventures!